This invention generally relates to automobile seats, and more particularly to an automobile seat which converts from an adult seat to an infant seat.
An automobile adult seat does not provide adequate safety for children, particularly very young infants. Numerous devices have been proposed for enhancing the safety for children while driving in automobiles. While seat belts have provided some measure of safety for older children, separate smaller seats have generally been used for young infants since these tend to restrain the child from movement in almost every direction.
In most instances, these infant seats have been separate seats which can be installed on an adult automobile seat and secured in some fashion thereto by means of, for example, the adult seat belts. This type of infant seat suffers from two primary disadvantages. Firstly, if the infant seat is improperly fastened to the adult seat, the seat can move relative to or separate from the adult seat thereby failing to provide the expected restraint on the child. Secondly, the adult seat to which the infant seat is attached is clearly not usable by the adult until the infant seat is removed. Therefore, whenever an adult needs to use the seat, the infant seat must be removed and stored until the next time it is needed for the infant. In addition to being a time consuming and inconvenient procedure, the infant seat must again be carefully secured to the adult seat each time that the infant needs to use same.
As a result of the disadvantages discussed above in connection with movable or portable infant seats, there has also been proposed infant seats which are integrally built into an adult automobile seat such that the adult seat can be converted into an infant seat typically by moving one or more members of the adult seat and uncovering and unfolding the infant seat into its desired position.
The infant seats of this type generally provide a child restraint which is in the nature of a bar or padded portion which is placed in front of the child while it is within the infant seat. The restraint, however, serves no other function, for example, when the infant seat is converted into an adult seat. The infant seats, therefore, have tended to be complex in construction and expensive to manufacture, and have not always provided the measure of safety or strength that the child restraint is intended to provide.